Who is Martin Jarmond?

Martin Jarmond, former deputy director of athletics at Ohio State University, has been named the Director of Athletics, replacing Brad Bates. Bates announced his resignation in February, as he will move on to be the Vice President of College Sports Associates’ consulting division. After five tumultuous years for the majority of the Eagles’ athletic teams under Bates’ tenure, there is hope for change with Jarmond.

At OSU, Jarmond was the sports administrator for football, men’s basketball, baseball, and the golf programs. In lieu of the Eagles' struggles with the basketball and football programs, Jarmond brings his successful experiences from OSU. OSU’s football team won the National Championship in 2015, and sends the second largest number of players to the NFL. OSU’s basketball team has stumbled in the past two years, but has had great success in the NCAA Tournaments in the past (2010-2013). Jarmond even played Division 1 basketball himself at UNC Wilmington. It could prove to be of great benefit to have an experienced former athlete as well as someone coming from a program with such recent success in the areas Boston College has struggled.

“My experience as a student-athlete and then as an administrator in the Big Ten for the past 15 years has taught me that the most successful teams have a vision—a shared vision—and they develop themes that support that vision,” stated Jarmond, during his introductory press conference on April 24th.

Jarmond then went on to touch on the importance of passion, alignment, and competitive excellence, stating that a program only thrives with momentum, shared goals, and the desire to compete at the Division 1 level. Although he has 15 years of experience under his belt, Jarmond is only 37 years old—the average Division 1 athletics director is 52 years old. However, his level of experience at such a young age is admirable, and maybe a younger man at the helm is what BC Athletics needs to achieve future success.

“I was an assistant athletic director at Michigan State at 26, one of the youngest in the country. I've always been young. To me, that doesn't matter. It's about people. It's about respect. It's about trust. That's what I work hard to build. People understand that I'm here to help them.”

Jarmond is committed to creating strong relationships with the players, coaches, and alumni. Currently, Boston College has $200 million invested in athletics, and Jarmond is no stranger to fundraising and directing funds. At Michigan State, Jarmond was on the leadership team for the $1.2 billion Campaign for MSU project; he then raised over $120 million at OSU, and was on the executive board for Ohio State’s $2.5 billion But for OSU… campaign. So Jarmond’s hiring might be an indicator of Boston College’s underlying goals of establishing a liaison to build and maintain a strong alumni network and community in conjunction with fundraising.

“The investment that BC Athletics is making with the $200 million investment, that was critical. That was huge. That's really something that administratively makes an attractive opportunity. So I saw the possibility and what we can be and what we can continue to build, and that was important for me. That's why I'm here because I think that we can take this and keep going and keep the momentum and build.”

Jarmond will start in mid-June, just in time to gear up for football season and start making plans for basketball and hockey.

“Obviously, with those revenue sports, there's more spotlight on them, and you do need them from a revenue standpoint to really do well. So that's something we focus on, but, again, I want our whole athletic program to be competitive and understand what we're trying to accomplish.”